One Day at a Time
by Psybee
Summary: An old enemy returns and Gennai calls upon the children of Light and Hope to train a new generation of DigiDestined. Will this new team unite against the returning evil or will they end up killing each other first? AU Post "25 Years Later"
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 : Let the Nightmare Commence**

* * *

Location:** The Castle, Server Continent**

A lone figure stands on a balcony of a large medieval castle reveling in the cool night air. "Soon, very soon. This world will be mine once again," gloated the figure to the moon, his only silent companion. His solitude was disrupted when a small BlackAgumon walked onto the balcony.

"What is it, BlackAgumon," asked the mysterious figure without facing the lowly digimon. BlackAgumon bowed down making sure to avoid eye contact. "You know I specifically said I wanted to be alone…or maybe I should delete you where you stand."

"I'm sorry to bother Master," apologized the black reptile, "But I am sure what I have will make you extremely happy."

His Master scoffed and turned to face the rookie digimon. "Well…show me what you have. Then I will decide whether to kill you or not."

BlackAgumon nodded his head and clapped his hands. Out of the shadows of the room, a Guardromon appeared, holding a heavy metal chain in each hand. It walked to the BlackAgumon bowed stiffly. The Virus rookie digimon looked at the still drone before walking up to it and kicking its leg.

"Show him you stupid machine," he said in an annoyed tone. Guardromon yanked on the chains bringing the two prisoners into the moonlight.

The Master looked down at the Guardromon's feet and saw a small cat with shackles around her neck and arms and a small guinea pig looking digimon with a chain around its waist. Both looked bruised and beaten and on the verge of unconsciousness. The Master laughed and grabbed the chains from the Guardromon dragging the two further out onto the balcony.

"Well if it isn't my old friend Gatomon and Patamon. It has been such a long time," the Master exclaimed as he harshly yanked on the chains causing one of them to cry out in pain. "And you two haven't changed one bit! Though it looks like Patamon has seen better days." The Master kicked the small orange creature while Gatomon thrashed against her bonds.

"You're supposed to be dead," gasped Gatomon in pain.

"That is true," the figure said, kneeling down to the cat. "But you knew eventually I would return. That stupid dimension couldn't hold me for long. Though I guess I must thank you and those meddlesome DigiDestined. I'm much stronger because of what you did. And with Fanglongmon being reborn...heh… I will have done what is needed to be done."

"Fanglongmon? What are you talking about," asked the confused cat digimon.

"In a couple of minutes it won't matter any more." The figure walked back to the Guardromon and handed the chains back. From an unknown pocket, he pulled out two large white sheets. Gatomon's eyes widened in fear and began to squirm.

"You won't get away with this!" The cat digimon pulled on the chain that held her praying that somehow the metal would break.

"But I can! The gate between here and the real world has been closed for the past two years. None of those Digibrats can come in and none of you can go out for help. Face it. I win and you lose." With a flick of his wrist one of the sheets flew into the air and landed onto Patamon. The figure laughed and ripped the sheet off to reveal a small key chain with a small Patamon attached where the orange digimon previously stood. He picked it up and wiggled it in front of Gatomon's face.

"Do you know how long I wanted one of these? And I'm about to get a matching pair!"

Another flick and Gatomon's screams were silenced. The figure picked up the second key chain with Gatomon on it and handed both to BlackAgumon. "You will be bring these to my chamber and put it in the vault or you **will **join them." The rookie digimon bowed and left the balcony with the Guardromon in tow. Alone again, the Master reveled in this new development.

"It looks like good things happen to those who wait..."

* * *

**One Day at a Time**

A **Digimon **fanfic

by Psybee

**Disclaimer**: Characters from the Digimon Universe belong to Bandai, Toei and whoever owns the rights. All other characters belong to the author.

* * *

Location: **Dragon Eye Lake, File Island**

On the surface Dragon Eye Lake looked like a peaceful area. It was a popular fishing spot during a day and a nice, quiet place to watch the stars at night but tonight that silence was broken by a tall cloaked body stumbling in from the trees that surrounded the area. He limped slowly towards the lake's edge and from under his cloak pulled out a small black device that looked like a remote car starter. Once at the edge of the lake the mysterious person pressed a button on the device and the water in front of him began to recede. As the water ebbed back it revealed a set of stairs leading down to a large oak door. The man shuffled painfully down the stairs and opened the door. He walked into a house that looked like it was taken out of a home catalog and quickly shut the door.

"Gennai! Is that you?"

A rather large Falcomon with a gold claw around its neck came running from another part of the house into the foyer and gasped. "Gennai!" It ran to the young protector and lead him into the living room. The two maneuvered around a small table and sat down on the couch near it. With the help of the Bird Digimon, Gennai removed the cloak to reveal that his once beige uniform was littered with tears and smudges of dirt.

"Man. I thought his security would be a little laxer," Gennai said tossing the ruined robe to a corner of the room, "Devidramon's everywhere! I'm surprised they followed me halfway across the Sea!"

Falcomon ran out the room for a few minutes before coming back with bandages and water. Gennai murmured his thanks and began the strenuous task of dressing his wounds. "So," asked the digimon as it sat down next to Gennai, "How did the mission go?"

Gennai finished wrapping the last of the bandages around his hands before turning to his friend. "It was a success," he sighed, "And a failure."

"Oh no..." Before Falcomon could ask Gennai dug his hands into his pockets pulled out two key chains and placed them on the table. It was Gatomon and Patamon.

"Are they still alive," asked the digimon.

"Yes," Gennai said putting his head in his hands, "But this is very very bad. With you in the state you're in..." The two sat in silence for sometime staring at the key chains wishing they could do more.

"You know who we need," Falcomon said breaking the silence, "We need the DigiDestined."

"But the ports to the real world have been closed for years. How in the world are we supposed to bring them here?"

Falcomon stood up and grinned down at the guardian of the Digital World. "Just because I'm not strong doesn't mean I don't have powerful allies." Once again the Bird Digimon left the room and returned with a large television with two dials on the side. Gennai watched as Falcomon placed the TV onto the small coffee table and turned it on. The two were greeted by a static screen and the annoying sound that came with it. Groaning, Falcomon went to the side of the TV and started twisting the dials. The static screen blinked out as different colors started to form on the screen. "Okay, here we go," Falcomon turned the dials once more before a clear picture appears on the TV. All the screen shows is a large metal desk and a small stool. Falcomon sighed before sitting back down next to Gennai.

"Hey," the digimon yelled at the television, "I know you're there! C'mon!"

Suddenly a HiAndromon came into view and stared into the TV screen looking truly irritated. "Falcomon? Why did you wake me up from sleep? And how did you get this frequency?"

"Hello HiAndromon," was Falcomon's cordial reply, "This isn't a social call. I need your help."

HiAndromon looked at the screen with uncertainty on his face before spotting something on the screen. "Forgive my tone," the mechanical digimon apologized, "More and more of _**his **_minions keep trying to invade my workshop. I'm just a little drained. What do you need of me?"

"If that is the case then what we have in mind can not be done over there," stated Falcomon. HiAndromon started at the two, confused. "We need the DigiDestined but all the gates are closed on both ends," explained Gennai.

"And you need me to create one," the machine finished the guardian's request, "If that is the case then I hope that little house is big enough. I will be at the lake as soon as possible with my things."

Falcomon sighed in relief. "Thank you HiAndromon." HiAndromon gave a short nod before the screen went dark. This time Gennai let out a sigh and relaxed into the couch.

"And now we hope and wait..."

* * *

**READREADREADREADREAD**

Hello all. Since you bother to read this chapter there are a few things you shoukd know about this story if you plan to continue reading:

**1.** To a very small percentage this story might seem very familiar. That's because this was orginally "The Return of Piedmon". I didn't like the way it started going I decided to take it down after two chapters....

Not the brightest idea but I felt it was necessary to do so. The plot will be similar but way more detailed.

Please give this story a chance. It will start out slow but catch on very quickly.

**2.** At sometime the characters we know and love will be out of character. There is a good reason why but I will not tell. It'll spoil the surprise.

**3.** I also take some liberty in some of the Digimon's attacks. Again some just didn't meld into the story than others.

**4.** Since I'm a math major trying to write English the chapters will for the most part have glaring spelling or grammatical errors that my spell check will not pick up. So I need a beta reviewer. The pay is my undying thanks. Send me a message if you are interested.

That's all for now.

Thank you for reading and please leave a review. They make me feel special constructive or not. Just don't leave any flames.

Later,

_Psybee _- 1.11.10


	2. Chapter 2

Tokyo, Japan - 6:32 A.M.

**BZZZ! BZZZ! BZZZ! BZZ-**

Like clockwork, a fist came down on the alarm clock. From the bed directly next to it, a woman groaned and slowly slid off the bed, aggravated like so many other that a new day began. Making sure not to wake up the other occupant in the bed, she slowly made her way out the bedroom door and down a dark hallway until she reached another door. She opened it, exclaiming, "Yuuto! Arata! Time to get up."

One of the boys, Yuuto, immediately woke up yawning. "Morning Mom."

_Mom. I can't believe I'm a mother_. Even after eight years of motherhood, Kari Takaishi _née _Kamiya still felt giddy when her children called her that. After their adventures in the Digital World, T.K. finally got the courage to ask her out and ever since the two were inseparable. They dated throughout college and after nine years of dating, TK finally popped the question which she tearfully said "yes". Soon after the wedding day came her precious sons. She looked at her youngest son and smiled once more. Yuuto looked just like her husband when he was younger: same scruffy blond hair and sea-blue eyes but when it came to his demeanor Yuuto was definitely his mother's son. Kari looked at her other son who was still in bed. Arata may have inherited his good looks from his mother but he acted more like her older brother.

She walked over to the other bed and nudged the sleeping boy. "Arata, time for school."

"Five more minutes," came his mumbled reply. The mother of two let out a fake sigh.

"Okay then. Guess only one person will get breakfast," Kari said nonchalantly as she headed to the kitchen. Like clockwork she heard the rustling of sheets and the sound of feet scampering towards the bathroom.

Every morning her routine was the same: she would wake the boys up, make them breakfast and get them ready and then send them off school. Once they left she would get ready for work. On the rare occasion that her morning was hectic, she would envy T.K. As an author, T.K. didn't have a set schedule and worked whenever inspiration hit him but he normally worked either in the late afternoon or late at night.

With the children off to school, Kari continued her routine getting ready to leave for work. Before she left Kari walked back into the dark master bedroom and sat at the edge of the bed near the sleeping blond. "T.K. wake up," she called softly. The blond yawned and propped himself on his elbow.

"Could you pick up the boys today? I'm behind in some paperwork and I need to finish."

"I'll try." T.K. rubbed the sleep out of his eye and let out another yawn. "I have a meeting with Taki this afternoon. Hopefully I'll escape her wrath. If not I'll give you a call."

_Ah, yes Taki_, Kari thought while trying not to roll her eyes. Her husband's editor was notorious for being a perfectionist and would often drive her writers to pull out their hair. She was also known for being a little too friendly to her male authors, married or single. The Spider, that's what people called her.

"Have a good day. And stay away from the Spider's webs." Kari giggled as she darted out the room narrowly avoiding a pillow to the head.

* * *

After teaching kindergarten for three years and coming home with a new illness every week, Kari decided it was time for a career change. Now instead of dealing with snot-nosed, rambunctious little children, as an English teacher at a nearby high school Kari dealt with snot-nosed, rambunctious _teenagers_. As she parked into her assigned space she spotted her boss, the principal of the school, standing near the space. The principal was an old, hunched-over bald man, dressed in a dark colored suit, sunglasses and walked with a cane.

"Ah, Takaishi-sensei," he said in a deep, raspy voice as she exited her car, "Right on time. The new transfer student just arrived and is waiting in your room. Please follow me."

Kari mental smacked herself as the two walked towards the school. _She came today? Great, another thing I have to look after_. "What can you tell me about the new student," Kari asked her superior. The older man stopped walking and stroked his chin before responding. "Her name is Ariyana. Regina Ariyana. She is a very bright young girl. I foresee no problems but..."

"'But', what?" As a teacher 'but' had become one of her most feared and hated word to hear. The word always meant more complications for her. They entered the school and headed towards Kari 's classroom greeting the students that walked by. Her boss sighed and stopped waking just as they reached the room. "She's a foreigner and I fear that she might not fit in because of that. I know you have your work and classes but could you just look after her for the next few days? Just to make sure she's settled in."

"Not to worry. I'll look after her." The principal smiled at Kari and reached for the door. She slid the door and in the corner of the room stood a girl dressed in the school uniform, standing by the windows looking out. The principal cleared his throat causing the student at the window to turn towards the two adults. The girl walked up to Kari and bowed as her boss introduced the two to each other, "Takaishi-sensei, this is Ariyana Regina. And this is your new homeroom teacher."

"Pleasure to meet you," the new student said, giving the teacher and principal a warm smile. Kari returned the smile.

"Now if you will excuse me ladies I have a pile of paper work with my name on it. I hope you do well." And with that the old man walked out of the classroom. As soon as the door was closed the new girl let out a sigh.

"Don't worry," the English teacher said reassuringly, "The other students are friendly enough."

"I hope so," Regina replied. Before she could speak further, the morning bell sounded and students filed into the classroom. All Kari could do is lead Regina to the font of the room.

"Settle down," the teacher commanded. Once everyone was seated she introduced Regina to the class, "Now before I start roll call, we have a new student joining us."

The girl bowed and introduced herself. "Ariyana Regina. I hope we get along fine."

"Good, good. Now how about you take the seat in front of Tarumoto while I start role call. Tarumoto-san could you please raise your hand." A boy seated near the back of the room raised his hand. With Regina headed to her seat Kari continued with role call. That was until a loud crash and laughter echoed within the room.

Kari looked up and saw that Regina was not her seat but on the floor a confused look on her face, her chair directly behind her. "Ariyana, you okay?" The girl pulled herself up and sat down as if nothing happened. "I slipped. I'm fine."

"Yea," Tarumoto said from behind her, "You might wanna look before you sit."

Kari inwardly groaned. Homeroom wasn't even over and the one thing that she prayed wouldn't happen, happened: The class bully was causing trouble for the new student. She would deal with him before the principal heard of it. Thank goodness her lunchtime would be relatively calm. Now all Kari had to do is maintain order until that bell.

Easier said than done.

* * *

The sound of the lunch bell was the sound of temporary freedom for all students. It was refueling time, preparation for the next round of classes.

But not for one boy. Instead of relaxing and eating, he was given the task of showing the new student around the campus and as class representative he vowed not to fail. That was if he could find her. He ran throughout the building looking for the girl, which was a feat for someone as portly as he was. After finding no luck inside he began his search outside looking high and low, checking under every tree, asking other students and teachers but no one saw or could remember seeing the new girl. Soon there was only one place he did not check: behind the library. He ran back to the library and rounded the corner and spotted a lone figure sitting in the grass.

"Ariyana-san!" Hearing her name being called, the girl looked up. "Ariyana-san!" The class representative, a short and very round raven haired boy, stopped in front of her, gasping for some much needed air. His face was bright red from the search.

"My name... is...," he stuttered.

"Sit and catch your breath before you fall over." The transfer student grabbed the boy's arm and pulled causing him to fall face first to ground. "Sorry about that but I don't want to explain why I am carrying an unconscious boy to the nurses' office on my first day." The boy nodded sheepishly as he got off his stomach and sat down near new girl. He slowly took in air until his breathing was steady and his face no longer red.

"Feeling better," Regina asked to which the boy nodded. "That's good. Now believe you were about to tell me your name."

"Ah!" The boy stood up and introduced himself, grinning. Before introducing himself he took one good look at his new classmate. Her cinnamon colored skin immediatly labeled her as a foreigner. She had large gray eyes and long light brown hair in a single braid. "Name's Ito Kiyo. I'm the homeroom representative and I was sent by Takaishi-sensei to give you a tour of the school."

"Really? Well I'm sorry to bust your bubble Ito-san but the principal gave me one earlier." Kiyo's grin was replaced with a frown as he ran a hand through his black hair and turned to leave. "Okay...well... I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll see you in class."

"Wait!" The boy stopped and looked back to see that Regina was now on her feet, smoothing out her skirt. "Now that I think of it the principal's tour wasn't really thorough. Maybe you can show me the school through the eyes of a student?" Kiyo smiled at the suggestion.

"Well then we should get started. This building is the library if you didn't know..." For the rest of the period the two traveled around the campus. Kiyo made sure to point out every landmarks and tell her which teachers and students to watch out for and which ones were friendly.

"And this is our homeroom," Kiyo pointed out, "But you knew that already."

"Well, I can safely say that this has been one of the most informative tours I have ever been on," the brunette stated. Kiyo laughed nervously, scratching his head. "It was no trouble. In fact it was my pleasure."

"Well since the tour is finished would you like to join me for lunch?" She slid the room door only to run into another person with blonde hair. Both students fell to the floor. When Kiyo recovered he helped Regina to her feet. "Are you okay," he asked pulling Regina to her feet.

"My face feels like it smacked against a brick wall."

"Hey! I take offense to that," said the other student on the ground. Kiyo looked past the brunette and saw a familiar face. "Why am I not surprised to see you Megumi?"

"Because according to you I'm impulsive," Megumi replied as she got to her feet. "Ah! You're the new girl. I hope pudgy here isn't causing you much grief."

"Quit it," Kiyo groaned as he playfully punched Megumi, "Ah, Ariyana-san. This is Niita Megumi. She's captain of the basketball team."

"And I'm glad that I bumped into you when I did," the blonde stated.

Kiyo looked at his friend warily. "What do you mean?"

"That Shiro and his gang are on warpath, most likely looking for you."

"But she didn't do anything."

Megumi sighed and scratched her head. "Well after what he did to her during homeroom, he got two weeks detention."

"And now he blames me," Regina jumped in. The basketball captain nodded before warning her, "So you need to make yourself scarce until the bell rings."

Regina leaned her body and spotted something behind Kiyo. "Well as much as I appreciate the warning, I think it came a bit late," she said pointing to something behind the other two. They turned and only to see a very angry boy accompanied by three other students, slowly marching to the trio as the other students in the hallway ducked into classrooms. Tarumoto stood at the head of the group with a scowl aimed at Regina.

"What do you want Shiro," asked the classroom rep.

"You though it would be funny to get me in trouble," Shiro said completely ignoring Kiyo, "Now I got to explain to my parents why I got detention for two weeks."

"Oh, that's easy," Regina explained sarcastically, "All you have to say is 'Mom, Dad, today I decided I would throw all reason out the door and harass the new student by playing a prank. The teacher found out and now I must stay after school as a result of my stupidity. Please forgive me.' And make sure to stress the fact it was because of your stupidity."

Kiyo, Megumi and even Shiro's friends as well as the other students in the hall chuckled at 'explanation'. Shiro growled in response, "You bitch. You're going to regret it."

"And again, please tell me exactly what I did to you cause I'm running the scene in my head and I got nothing." Shiro took a step towards the girl but then Kiyo placed himself between the two.

"Leave her be," said the black haired boy. Shiro sneered at Kiyo before swiftly punching him in the stomach causing him to fall to his knees.

"And what is lard ass like you gonna do," the bully asked while both girls looked after their fallen friend. Remembering why he was there, Shiro approached Regina and began to reach for her, "Don't think I've forgotten about you girl." But before he could touch her, Regina's hand caught his wrist in a steel grip.

"Apologize to Ito-san," the transfer demanded. Shiro scoffed and tried to jerk his hand away. Instead Regina squeezed tighter making the bully wince.

"Get off me," the bully demanded and raised his other hand but the brunette grabbed his other wrist and began squeezing.

"Now unless you want me to break the bones in both wrists you will apolgize to Ito-san. Now."

The bully grumbled but then winced then the pressure on his wrists increased. "Alright! Alright! I'm sorry."

"Sorry to who?"

"Sorry, Kiyo."

"For?"

"Punching you in the stomach."

"Now all together."

"How about you ...**ARGH**!" Shiro grumbled but changed his tune when Regina squeezed harder.

"Sorry for punching you in the stomach," he finally apologized.

Regina looked over to Kiyo, "Good. Now do you accept his apology?" From the floor Kiyo nodded and grinned at the sight of Shiro in pain.

"Excellent. Now you and your friends are going to avoid us for the rest of the day and I won't tell Takaishi-sensei that you tried to attack me. If you don't, I _will _tell and you will be expelled so fast your head will spin. Got it?" The bald boy nodded and Regina let him go free. Without another word the bully stalked off with his cronies while Regina went inside and headed to her seat. Both Kiyo and Megumi stared at her from the doorway in awe.

"Do you know what you did," the basketball player asked as Regina pulled out her small lunch. "No, not really," the transfer student replied as she began eating her food. "Wanna dumpling?"

"You just embarassed the school's biggest bully in front of his friends and become the savior of every kid who's been terrorized by him."

"Just as long as they don't start following me I'll don't care."

Kiyo snatched up a dumpling and ate it happily just as the rest of the class began to filter back inside. "So, what are you going to about Shiro?"

"Nothing. He doesn't bother me, I don't bother him." The brunette finished her lunch just as Tarumoto and his friends walked back into the room. "And if he does?"

"Some broken wrists would be the least of his worries." Kiyo was about to ask another question when the afternoon bell rang. The rest of the day went smoothly, almost like a blur to Kiyo. He didn't pay attention to the classes but there were two things he did learn: Regina Ariyana was no regular girl and the rest of the year would be anything but ordinary.

* * *

With the classes finished and her paperwork finally completed, Kari entered her home with nothing but the thought of enjoying the remainder of the evening with her family. She smiled as she observed her kids play-wrestling with T.K. on the living room floor. The two boys soon noticed their mother standing in the doorway and ran to greet her with hugs.

"You look happy," T.K. greeted his wife with a kiss. She kicked off her shoes and left her bag at the door. "Let's just say I avoided a lecture when two forces collided."

"I don't if that's good or bad."

"Neither. I have a new student, a foreigner. She's seems nice but unfortunately," As she began to explain about the bully, the doorbell rang. Kari sighed, not in the mood to entertain, and wished it was just one of those traveling salesmen or someone in need of sugar. When she did open the door, she found a sight worse than a visiting relative.

"Taki," she said with venom. The Spider Lady herself was standing in her doorway dressed in a blue suit and wearing a pair of sunglasses, her dark brown hair pulled back into a bun. "Ah Kari, it is so good to see you," the editor said in an obviously fake French accent, "Is your husband home? I have something for him."

_And I have something for you._ "No he went to go get dinner," Kari replied with a fake smile. Taki's own faltered a bit but she still tried to hide. "Well I have something for my favorite writer. Would you mind giving this to him?" Taki pulled out a black binder and Kari all but snatched it from The Spider's hands.

"I will. Thank you. Good bye." And with that the teacher slammed the door in the editor's face. Kari sighed, running her fingers through her hair when she heard T.K. call from the kitchen, "Is she gone?"

Before Kari could respond all the lights in the house went out, leaving the four in the dark. "She may be gone but she left her mark. Must be a power outage."

"And you know what that means. Time for you two to go to bed." Both boys groaned and protested as their father carried them through the darkness to their room. Kari went to a nearby closet and pulled out a spare flashlight. She then walked over to the phone and checked to see if it they would at least have the phone. What she heard instead was a raspy voice greet her, "Hello Child of Light."

"Who is this," she replied, "Tai this better not be you! I'm already dealing-"

"The Digital World needs you," the caller continued, "You and your husband, the Child of Hope." Whoever this person

"What's wrong Kari?" T.K. appeared at her side and looked at her with concern. Rather than say anything, Kari handed the phone over to her husband.

"Who is this," he asked and in an attempt to scare the person off added, "Whoever you are, your call is being traced and I'm going to call the police."

"Child of Hope, the Digital World needs your aid once more," the caller stated once more before the line went dressed. T.K. placed the phone back into its cradle and placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "Probably a prank caller. He hung up as soon as I mentioned the police."

"I'm not so sure," the brunette said in an almost inaudible voice. T.K. looked at his wife who had the flashlight pointed at the TV which suddenly turned on. Rapidly pictures began surfacing. Pictures of themselves and their adventures in the Digital World, pictures of the Digimon they defeated and the Digimon that became their friends and as quickly as they appeared they vanished, plunging the two back into darkness.

"Okay," T.K. said with a twinge of uncertainty in his voice, "That was definitely not a prank call."

* * *

A/N: I smell the plot device! Le Gasp!

Reviews are my life source. Gimmie!


	3. Chapter 3

Tokyo, Japan - 10:14 PM

It had been 5 years since Izzy Izumi had a good night's sleep. Ever since the day of The Great Return - the day in which the Digimon living in the real world were sucked backed into the Digital World and all of its' gates were sealed closed- Izzy worked day and night trying to figure out a way to reopen the gates and get in contact with Gennai.

If it wasn't for his fellow researchers and his family, he would have drown in his work. He tried to keep his research out of the home but most nights that was damn near impossible. His mind was always calculating - _maybe we're using the wrong ISP address, we need to make the code more refined, _and so on. So instead of being in his bed like most of Japan at this time, he would spend the majority of the night looking over the notes he brought home, trying to create a solution himself while his wife and daughter slept soundly in their beds.

Tonight was no different. Once again in his living room, dressed in yellow pajamas, hunched over his PiBook, Izzy's tired eyes scanned numbers and data collected throughout the last five years.

_Hmm.. the supposed signal from that day was the same as this-_ The house phone suddenly began to ring, breaking his concentration. Grumbling, Izzy reached over and grabbed the phone off the side table and mentally prepared a speech for the unlucky caller.

"Hello? Izumi residence." There was a sigh of relief that came from the caller. "Izzy, it's T.K. We need you to come over to our apartment, ASAP."

"Why is everything okay," Izzy asked. For the next five minutes, T.K. speedily explained everything that happened at his home. To Izzy, what he heard was almost too good to be true.

"Hold on a second. So what you're trying to tell me is that just an hour ago, you had a power surge that only affected your apartment. Then all of sudden, Gennai, who I've been trying to contact for the past five years, appears on your television screen saying that you and Kari need to return to the Digital World and save it once again from an unknown evil?"

"Yeah that's basically it in a nutshell. So do you think you can come over?"

"I'll be there in 10 minutes." He hung up the phone, almost giddy with joy. This was what he was searching for. He packed up his trusty laptop in a bag and left his house in a hurry, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas.

True to his word, after taking numerous side streets and going well above the legal speed limit, Izzy arrived at T.K.'s apartment in 10 minutes, contrast to the 45 minutes it would normally take. After parking his car, he sprinted up several flights of stairs and finally arrived in front of the Takaishi's front door. Before he could raise his arm to knock , the door opened revealing T.K. standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

"We say you come in. Nice pajamas by the way." The two men shook hands and the blond moved aside to let him in. "TV's in the living room. Kari's checking on the kids."

Izzy stepped out of his shoes and began setting up his laptop near the television. He sat down on the floor and crackled his knuckles.

"Let the genius work."

Four hours, several bathroom breaks and numerous cups of coffee and tea later, Izzy was no closer to finding out what happened than he was before T.K.'s call. He did everything in his power to recreate the conditions that caused the blackout but nothing brought him closer to finding the answer he so desperately wanted. The redhead loudly growled in frustration and slammed his head on his keyboard, waking up T.K. and Kari who were fast asleep on the couch.

"Good grief Izzy, it's 2 in the morning," Kari yawned as she checked her watch. "Take a nap and try again later."

The redhead only grumbled in response. He knew Kari was right: he was overworked, hungry, and tired. But the situation that he was presented with was so confusing that he couldn't just let it go unsolved. _Gennai always communicated through the computer or face to face. Never through the television_. Baffled and feeling defeated, the computer expert was just about to turn off his trusted PiBook when an idea popped into his head.

Izzy asked the brunette, "Where is your wireless router?" She pointed to the top of the bookcase next to him and sure enough when he checked, a small router was sitting up there, still turned on.

"Was there a computer on during the blackout?"

"Yeah," T.K. answered as he stood and stretched, "I was working on something." He left the room and soon re-entered carrying his small netbook. He handed it to the older man who began typing furiously on the keyboard.

"What are you hoping to find?"

"The wireless router transmits and broadcasts radio waves, so maybe it picked up the waves that were sent to the TV. If I can get trace those waves, I can find where they are coming from."

"Now I may not be an computer genius," Kari stated, still sitting on the couch, "But that doesn't sound feasible." Izzy turned his head and asked, "Who's the computer genius in his room?"

Kari chuckled as she rose from the couch and headed to the kitchen to make another pot of tea while Izzy continued his work on the computer. A few minutes later the redhead shot up from his sitting position and began to dance around the living room while T.K. and Kari watched from the kitchen.

"I found it," Izzy triumphantly proclaimed, "I found out where the signal came from."

The two moved from the kitchen and stood near the elated computer genius. "And?"

"In lay man's terms: The coordinates don't match any place on Earth but they do match in the Digital World." He picked up his laptop and placed it on the dining room table. He then brought up a map of the Digital World and entered the coordinates. On the screen, a blinking light appeared on the southern part of File Island.

T.K. stared at the blinking light. "That's Dragon Eye Lake."

"And where Gennai is." Izzy closed his laptop and turned to the writer, about to ask him for something but T.K. put a hand up before the redhead could speak. "Take it Izzy. It looks like you'll need it more than I will. And don't worry. I have an external hard drive that I back up everything on."

Izzy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks a lot, man. You have no idea what this means for my research."

"No problem," the blond replied, giving the older DigiDestined the power cable for his laptop, "Now go home and get some sleep."

With a new hope, Izzy took the two laptops and said goodbye to the couple before returning home. He tiptoed through the house and set the laptops in his office. Then he walked to his room and got into bed, careful not to wake his wife. And when closed his eyes, for the first time in years Izzy Izumi slept like a baby.

* * *

Two months later

* * *

Tokyo, Japan - 11:20 AM

_I hate shopping._

In Kiyo's world, Sunday was the designated day to relax and to reflect. It was not a day to be woken up before noon and be dragged to go shopping but somehow Megumi had done it. According to the blonde, they needed more supplies for the upcoming field trip so she arrived at his house wearing a green jacket, a yellow shirt, a pair of blue track pants. He tiredly dressed himself in a baggy red shirt, a pair of jeans and his boots and took a short train ride to Shibuya. It was here Megumi assured him that they would pick up only what they needed and then head back home. And so Kiyo allowed himself to be dragged around by his friend to the area's biggest indoor mall.

_I hate walking, hate shopping. Why did I agree to come? Why couldn't I just stay home?_ Kiyo let out a groan as he shuffled past yet another clothing store. Megumi looked at her friend's sulking face and scoffed. "Oh suck it up. We've only been walking for twenty minutes!" When she saw that her comment had no effect on him, a sly smile appeared on her face as she announced her trump card, "Fine. Let's sit and rest here. We can wait until Regina arrives."

Kiyo began to sit on the bench but froze when he heard who was coming. "What? You invited her?" The blonde did not answer and instead enjoyed the mall's peaceful ambiance. It wasn't too long before a whistle caught their attention. Kiyo spotted Regina first. She wore a gray long sleeved shirt, an orange shirt over that, a pair of black capris and a pair of sneakers. Regina pushed a large shopping cart partially filled with bags.

"It looks like someone started shopping without us," Megumi said as she stared at the cart.

Regina let out a chuckle. "When I told my uncle I was going shopping, he gave me a 'short' list of things to pick up. How are you Kiyo?"

"F-fine. Are you ready to go?"

Regina nodded. "You two have more experience with the field trip so I'll just follow. So we headed?"

Kiyo stroked his chin, looking at the surrounding stores. "Well I think we should decide what we're going to have for dinner since they're not feeding us. Then head over to camping department to pick up a backup lamp. Then we get lunch. And since Megumi woke me up early, she's buying." The class rep began to march towards the supermarket with the two girls following him, giggling. He asked, "What's so funny?"

Megumi looked at Kiyo and waved a hand at him, "Nothing, nothing."

"Really, it's nothing," Regina reassured him, "Please lead the way, fearless leader." Rolling his eyes, Kiyo turned and three entered the supermarket. There they spent the next hour deciding who would do the cooking, what they would eat and finding the ingredients as well as snacks. Everything was going smoothly...

Of course, that was until Kiyo saw a familiar bald head as they headed towards the only free cashier.

Shiro stood at the cash register dressed in a gray apron that partly covered a black T-Shirt and a pair of jeans. And as if the situation couldn't get any worse it wasn't until Regina pulled out her wallet to pay for the things did the two finally notice each other. Kiyo gulped and took a step back.

To say that Regina and Shiro didn't like each other was like saying fish needed water to breathe. Since Regina's arrival at the school two months ago, the pair have been at each others' throats and even came to blows. Kiyo remembered that day well: Shiro decided it would be fun to take the brunette's bag, while she was out of the classroom, and toss it and its contents into the school pool. And although it was the hot button topic among the students that day, nothing could compare to when Shiro arrived at the school the next day. He looked like he'd gone five rounds with an MMA fighter. Both of his eyes were black and one was tightly swollen shut. His bottom lip was split and a large yellow bruise had formed on his left cheek. Students soon found out that after school, Shiro and his group began to taunt Regina as she got ready to travel home. When they stepped off the school property, the bully decided to give the girl a shove.

As soon as she felt the boy's hand on her shoulder, Regina grabbed his arm and proceeded to punch Shiro in the face, repeatedly, until he crumpled in a heap on the ground. His friends, in shock, just stared at their downed, bloody "friend" as the girl walked away with a smile on her face. The next day, all of Shiro's victims who heard of the bully's beat down, met Regina as she arrived at school and offered to make her lunch for the next two years.

Her response to them: "That's sweet but I have no idea what you're talking about."

And now the two were face to face again and both Megumi and Kiyo knew that the smallest thing could set them off. In silence Regina pulled out a few bills from her wallet and paid for the items. Shiro took the bills and gave the brunette back her change as the others quickly placed the food in the cart.

"Thank you for shopping with us and have a nice day," Shiro gave the group a forced smile.

"You too, Baldy," Regina replied as she pushed the cart towards the store's exit. She could feel Shiro's glare at the back of her head as they exited the supermarket.

"That was fun. So," Regina asked the other two, "On to the next store?" Megumi and Kiyo just stared in disbelief.

"Okay. Before you two say anything, you guys don't give Shiro enough credit. Sure he might be an asshat but he's not as moronic as you think he is. Now where are headed?"

"Before we get the lamp, I have to stop by the electronics store for my dad," Megumi started walking towards down the corridor, "After this then we'll get something for Kiyo to gnaw on and then get the lamp." The raven-haired boy gave Megumi an annoyed look. "Hey, did I say I-" Before he could finish, a loud growl interrupted the conversation causing Kiyo's face to turn red with embarrassment. Both girls were biting their lips, trying desperately to stifle their laughter.

"Don't say a word..."

* * *

_Get in, get computer, get out, get in, get computer, get out._ That was Kari's mantra as she headed to her destination. Wearing a purple shirt and a pair of jeans, she briskly walked towards the electronics store. T.K. followed wearing a leather jacket, a white shirt and a pair of shorts.

"We don't need to buy another computer. I can just use the one in the living room."

She spun around and poked T.K.'s jacket clad chest. "No! You will not be _sharing _the family computer anymore. Do you know why? Because you," she let him have another poke, "Do not share! For the last 2 months, we have been fighting because you," she poked him again, "Have basically seized control of the computer. I have not been able to spend more than five minutes on it because you," another poke, "Complain that you won't be able to write your books. So I am getting you this computer. **END OF STORY**!"

By this time Kari didn't care if she was causing a scene as she marched into the store while T.K. followed her, his hands in his pockets and a sheepish look on his face. She was so incensed that she wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into someone, knocking the person down.

"I am so sorry," she began to apologize to the person, "I wasn't...Shiro?" She held out her hand, which the boy grabbed, and helped him to his feet.

"Man Sensei, you hit hard," Shiro smoothed his apron and grinned at his school teacher.

"Sorry about that. I had," she looked at the quiet blond, "Something on my mind. What are you doing here? Shopping?" The boy shook his head. "Nope. I work at the supermarket part-time. I'm on my break now."

"So just looking around?" Shiro shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you could say that. And then I saw them." He pointed over towards the computers. She glanced over and saw her students huddled over a computer screen.

"They've been like that for a while." Kari, T.K. and Shiro walked towards the three until they could see that the group was staring at a white screen with three green circles and three red circles.

"What are you looking at," Kari asked the trio causing them to jump. Instead of explaining, they moved aside allowing the teacher to see the entire screen. "We were walking through the place," Kiyo explained, "When the screen turned on by itself. The circles didn't appear until we got closer."

"Really?" The English teacher took another step closer and one of the remaining red circles turned green.

"You see! It did it again," Megumi stated. Shiro and T.K. leaned forward to get a better view the remaining two red circles turned green before all six circles suddenly disappeared.

Shiro scratched his head. "Okay that was-" Before he could turn to leave the boy felt a sudden sharp pain in his head. The world around him became unfocused and he began sway. When he attempted to lift his head, he noticed that he wasn't the only one with the headache. He could see that whatever was affecting him was also affecting the others as they all were holding their heads in pain.

"What's...going..."

And then the world around him went white.

* * *

Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed and visited the last chapter. You have no idea how happy I was to see all the emails from .  
**I'm still looking for a Beta Reader** (I'm looking at you Kaydreams!), **so if you want the job please send me a Private Message.**

You can expect the next in mid-December, after my classes are done. Leave a review! And have a happy Turkey Day.


	4. Chapter 4

Location: Dragon Eye Lake, File Island, Digital World

Pain.

That's what Megumi's brain had registered as soon as she opened one eye. _Wow that was a bad idea._ Feeling the pain intensify, she quickly closed it. Her head felt like it was stuck in a vise and some cruel person was increasing the pressure. Bringing her fingers to her head, the blonde attempted to soothe the pain by massaging her temple. She didn't stop rubbing until the sharp ache in her head became an annoying dull throb.

Opening her eyes again, Megumi looked at her surroundings and quickly noticed she was no longer in the electronics store. She now sat in a small bedroom furnished with five empty futons. _Where is everyone?_ Near the only exit she spotted her shoes thrown in a pile with several other pairs along with her green jacket and an orange T-shirt. The basketball star rolled out of bed, grabbed her jacket and pressed her ear against the door. No sounds came from the other side. Taking a deep breath, Megumi turned the doorknob and pushed the door slowly open.

Peering into the next room, the teen noticed was not surprised to see a living room. It had the usual furnishings but one item made Megumi speechless. On the far left wall stood a massive aquarium, stretching almost the entire length of the wall. Mesmerized by the enormous fish tank, Megumi walked into the room and towards it. It wasn't until she was face to face with the glass did a familiar voice break her out of her gaze.

"Finally! I was starting to worry." Megumi turned her head and saw Regina – sans the orange shirt- and Kiyo stretched out on the couch. Shiro was seated in a rocking chair positioned near the giant aquarium. Regina shifted herself over and the raven haired boy patted the now empty space next to him.

"Do any of you know where we are," the blonde asked the three as she sat down on the couch.

"I believe I can answer that question." A large green bird-like animal entered the living room from the small kitchen, holding a tray containing four teacups and a teapot. Smiling at the group, the creature placed the serving dish on the small coffee table and poured out the tea before offering it to the teens on the couch. Regina and Kiyo took a cup.

"Is anybody else seeing the big green _talking_ bird," Megumi asked, confused by their reaction to the giant green bird.

The class rep took a sip of tea. "Yup," he turned to the creature, "Thank you for the tea. It's delicious." The bird nodded politely as it moved away from the couch.

"Why is no one freaking out about the large green talking bird?"

The bird took the tray to Shiro to offer him a cup but the bald teen just waved him away. "We did while you were sleeping," Shiro looked over at Kiyo and Regina, "I was surprised you didn't hear the commotion these two losers made."

"We may have been scared," the brunette asked as she placed her now empty cup on the table, "But at least we didn't jump on the coffee table and scream bloody murder." The boy grumbled angrily and began to rock the chair faster. The bird creature cleared its throat. "To answer your question, miss, you are in the Digital World."

"So that means you're a Digimon," Megumi stated. The bird digimon bowed slightly. "That I am. You may call me Falcomon."

Yawning Shiro stilled the old rocking chair before standing. He stretched his arms before turning to Falcomon, "Okay that's all great and all but I got to get back to work. How do I get home?"

"We can't," said a new voice. All four teens turned to the source of the voice and saw their English teacher and a blond man walking out of another room. With worried looks etched on their faces, they sat down near the coffee table.

"Whatcha talking about Sensei?"

"We were trying to find a way to get back home," Kari replied, running her hands through her hair, "The gate that brought us here has been closed."

"So? Just open it."

"We tried," T.K. explained, "It's not opening. We're officially stuck here."

"And it looks like it's my job to explain why." The group turned and noticed a man enter the room from a door in the corner. Dressed in a beige robe and pants, a black turtleneck and belt, the newcomer remained standing in the doorway. While the four teens warily watched him, Kari and TK looked both relieved and confused at his arrival.

"Gennai," the teacher asked as she took a step towards him, "You're responsible for this?"

As soon as 'responsible' hit his ears, Shiro determined that this man was his ticket home. The bald teen marched over to Gennai and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him into the air.

"You better have a damn good reason why you won't let me go home, old man," the bald boy hissed angrily. Gennai looked down at the teen, annoyed by his actions, "I will tell you only if you let me down." Shiro glared at the man before setting him down.

"Thank you," Gennai smoothed his robe and motioned towards the door he emerged from, "Please follow me to the dining room." The adults rose from the floor and followed the guardian through the door. Soon after, the four teens followed.

Compared to the other rooms, the dining room was much bigger, bigger than the both the living room and the bedroom combined. Unlike the other rooms and their homey appearance, this room had a very Victorian feel to it. The walls were painted in a regal blue and contrasted with the polished hardwood floor. The ceiling was high above there heads; a mixture of colors that formed a map were painted on the surface. In the center were a long elegant dining table and several wooden chairs. Beyond the table, a large television screen hung out of place on the wall. The group seated themselves at the table – Kari, T.K., and Shiro on one side and Kiyo, Regina and Megumi on the other with Gennai seated at the head of the table.

Once everyone was settled, Gennai spoke, "As I have said before, neither the blocked gate nor your arrival here was my doing."

T.K. folded his arms across his chest and stared at the man, "Then who did?"

"It's best that I start at the beginning," Gennai began to explain, "About six years ago a hooded visitor stopped by my home. He claimed to be an agent of Fanglongmon, the leader of the Digimon Sovereigns. He proclaimed that a great evil would return and once again threaten both the Digital World and your world. He said, 'A group led by the children of Light and Hope will arrive to vanquish the evil from here. Darkness, traitors and fears they must overcome. There will be many losses before they will triumph.' I personally thought he was just another unstable person that somehow came from your world."

"Do they visit you often," Kiyo asked.

"Mostly once a month but all we do is smile and nod until they go home."

Falcomon entered the room holding a mahogany box the size of a pencil case. The digimon placed the box between T.K. and Kari before leaving.

"Fast forward a year and suddenly parts of this man's 'prophecy' begin to come true. First the Digimon from Earth suddenly return back here and then gates are sealed closed. And then…then…" Gennai broke his gaze and stared at the table suddenly looking drained. Kari saw the man slouch in his chair and wring his hands. The teacher leaned closer towards the troubled man. "Then what, Gennai?"

Gennai looked at the woman and pulled out an emerald key from his pocket. "I'm sorry," he pushed the key in their direction. The brunette looked at the key with hesitation. Whatever was inside the box was able to make the normally calm guardian of the Digital World terrified.

T.K. cautiously grabbed the key and inserted it into the keyhole. Twisting it, everyone in the room heard the box's lock unlock with a loud click. Tension suddenly filled every corner of the room as all eyes were on the now unlocked box. The writer lifted the lid. Inside the box was a blue blanket. The blond moved the thin fabric and peered in. His eyes went wide and his body started to shake as he stumbled to get away from what was in the box.

Kari, disturbed by her husband's reaction, took a deep breath and peered inside. Her body went numb. No, no, no, no. Impossible. She reached out, her arm quivering, and gently picked up the objects. The blood had drained from her face and she too moved away from the box, dropping the items and almost falling over the chair in the process.

"That's impossible," T.K. walked past his wife and stood over Gennai, "Are you sure it's not another one? We saw what happened to him."

Gennai nodded and looked into the blond's eyes. "I've seen him with my own eyes. He now goes by ChaosPiedmon and he is more cunning and dangerous than before," he looked at the box, "He needs –no, he must be stopped before he destroys the DigiWorld. From what my sources tell me, he has a new group of generals working for him and they are just as dangerous as the Dark Masters."

Gennai leaned over the table, shut the lid and relocked the box before calling Falcomon back into the room. He handed both the box and the key back to the digimon who once again disappeared into the next room. "We'll make sure that no harm comes to them. Please." He motioned the two join him back at the table. Unsteady and slowly the two rejoined the others at the table, neither person making eye contact with the others. An uneasy stillness passed through the room. None of the teens knew of Piedmon and his history and after seeing the adults' reaction to whatever was in the container, they did not want to know.

"Okay," Megumi broke the uncomfortable silence, "Let's assume that this visitor of yours is telling the truth. Exactly how are we supposed to defeat this ChaosPiedmon? Ask him to stop being evil?"

"No, you will have to fight them just as you," he looked towards the two adults, "Did before. You'll just be using a different method. Falcomon, could you please bring the stone in here." The digimon returned to the table this time holding a large inky black circular stone. Embedded in the stone were six different color gems: blue, green, brown, orange, yellow and white.

"The visitor also gave me this. According to him it will give you the ability to transform into Digimon and fight whatever ChaosPiedmon can throw at you."

"How does it work," Kiyo asked.

"Touch a gem and the power will be transferred to you."

"That's it?"

Gennai nodded. "That's what I was told."

"Pass." Shiro leaned back in his chair. Gennai looked over at the bald boy with a look of shock on his face. "What?"

The teen closed his eyes and titled the chair back. "I ain't risking my life for no one."

"And for once I agree with Baldy," Regina added as she scratched her head and turned her gaze to the artwork on the ceiling. "Listen, we're not Digimon, we are human. You want six humans to take on what I assume to be a very powerful Digimon. What happens if anyone gets hurt or worse? I read in a magazine that when Digimon die in the Digital World they turn into eggs. But guess what happens if we die? We stay dead. And I don't know about any of you but my near death experience quota has already been filled. So, no thank you. You can just send me home now."

Gennai let out a sigh, "I can't."

"You can't," the brunette asked as she turned towards the man, "Or you won't?"

"Can't. As I stated before I wasn't the one who brought you here." Regina looked at Falcomon and pointed but Gennai shook his head.

"No not him. My colleague, HiAndromon, helped me send a message to T.K. and Kari a few weeks ago," He picked up the remote and pressed a button causing the screen to flicker to life. It was broadcasting what seemed to be the burnt-out remains of a factory. "A few hours ago his factory was attacked by ChaosPiedmon and his troops and he was captured. I believe before he was captured, HiAndromon was able to bypass the sealed gates and bring you here."

"And let me guess," Shiro asked, "He is the only one that can send us home, right?"

"That is correct."

The boy got out of his chair and headed for the door. As he passed by Megumi the girl reached out and grabbed his wrist. The two locked eyes only for a second before Shiro shook his head and pulled himself out of her grip.

"I'm going to bed," the teen said as he walked out of the room, "Don't bother me."

Not even a minute after Shiro left Regina stood up from her seat and without a word to the others, left the room leaving the five in the living room.

"I was afraid this was going to happen." Gennai rubbed his chin. He grabbed the stone and rose from his seat.

"Gennai, is there anyway we could contact Izzy," the blonde writer asked.

"I can't send out a message like did with you two but I can try to send an email. Follow me." Gennai led the older DigiDestined out of the room. That left Megumi and Kiyo by themselves.

"So now what," the boy said placing his head on the table.

"It's obvious what we need to do. We need to convince Shiro and Regina to come with us."

Kiyo's head shot up as he looked at Megumi, a smirk plastered on her face. "We need to what?"

The blonde teen moved one seat over and circled an arm around his shoulders. "You heard me. And you heard what that Gennai guy said."

Kiyo was rendered speechless for a second. Megumi was actually happy that they were stuck here. "Are you really this excited that were stranded in another world? And why do you think I'm happy to go and play hero?"

"Beats being in school. And aren't you happy that you're here? Besides…" Kiyo latched a hand over Megumi's mouth. He knew what she would say and right now he didn't want to hear it. "I will help you if you promise not to finish that sentence." The blonde nodded her head furiously and soon the boy removed his hand. Kiyo shrugged off his friends arm before relaxing into the chair.

"So how are we going to 'convince' them to come?"

"You talk to Regina and I take Shiro." Megumi quickly got out of her chair and left the room before her friend could respond.

"That didn't answer my question!" Kiyo yelled at the door and wasn't surprised when silence was the only response. He didn't know what he was going to say to the girl.

_Hey, wanna get ourselves killed? No that would be stupid. What to say…what to say…_ Kiyo poured over in his mind as his feet steered him into the living room. Regina was stretched out on the couch but Kiyo was too deep in thought to notice as he seated himself in the rock chair. The brunette pushed herself onto the arm of the couch until her head was hanging off and watched as the class rep slowly rocked back and forth on the chair. He was hunched over in his seat, his head propped up by his arm.

She asked, "Penny for your thoughts?" The question jolted the Kiyo out of his thoughts. "You seemed deep in thought."

"Sorry about that. I was just thinking." Regina turned over, nodded her head. "I understand. Finding out all of this," she gestured to the Falcomon in the kitchen, "Has given me a headache that I wish would just go away. What do you think about this?"

"Honestly? I don't like it. Who know what will happen until we try."

"I'm starting to think that I should have never said 'Yes' to my uncle."

"Said 'yes' to what?" But Regina never gave an answer instead leaving the couch and heading into bedroom just as Megumi came out of the room. The two girls shared a quick glance before the brunette ducked into the room.

The blonde teen motioned her head towards the door before sitting on the couch, "So I'm guessing you weren't successful…"

"What did Shiro say," the boy asked.

"Other then not to bother him, nothing. I tried to talk him but he fell asleep."

"Do not expect them to change their mind so quickly young ones," Falcomon stated from the kitchen, "You must give them time and space to think."

"You're right Falcomon," Megumi sighed, sinking into the couch, "It's not like we can force them."

"How about you two help me with dinner," the bird digimon asked. The two got off of the couch and helped Falcomon.

* * *

And like that a week went by with neither Regina nor Shiro joining what Regina dubbed a suicide mission. On the eighth morning, Kiyo was awakened by someone shuffling around in the room. By the time he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes he realized he was the only person in the room. He got out of his futon and headed for the living room. The room was empty but he could smell an amazing aroma coming from the dining room. A meal of eggs bacon and orange juice sat in front of him. Like the other days breakfast was a quiet affair.

That was until Regina broke the silence.

"I'm tired of being cooped up in this place," the girl said pushing her empty plate away, "I'll help you with ChaosPiedmon."

All motion at the table stopped and heads turned towards the girl. She stared back, an eyebrow arched. "What?"

Shiro resumed eating his food. "Well, I still ain't going."

"That's fine. After all we won't need you." Kiyo opened up his mouth to say something and instead let out a yelp when the brunette stomped his foot. He turned to Regina to complain but instead received a look that said 'Be quiet and watch.'

The fork in his hand clattered to the plate. "What you say?"

"Why would we need a whiny, obnoxious, 'I-got-my-ass-beat-by-a-girl', weak little boy traveling with us? It would harm us more than help us." In the short time the two had been enemies, Megumi had never seen Shiro this furious. Veins appeared on the boy's head which started to turn red.

He stood up in the chair. "I ain't weak."

"Then prove it," Regina leaned back in her chair, "Weakling."

Shiro face twitched in anger. "**Where's. The damn. Stone**," he demanded in between clenched teeth. Gennai ushered them back into the living room.

"So we just choose a stone and grab it." Gennai nodded.

"On the count of three?"

Each person grabbed onto a part of the stone only for them to cry out in pain and let go of said stone. It was like they had stuck there fingers into an electrical socket and now pins and needles jabbing into their hands. The stone dropped onto the floor and turned into pile of dust.

Growling the bald teen got up and stormed over to Gennai until he towered over the seated man. "What the hell was that?" Before the man could defend himself the pile of dust began to swirl into the air.

"DigiDestined," An ominous and unseen voice filled the room, "As you are you will be no match for the evil. You must activate the ten temples. Only then will you be able to prevail. Your hands will show the way. I will be watching."

With cryptic voice gone, the room was plunged back into stunned silence. The glowing mist swirled above Shiro's body before diving into the boy's right hand which also began to glow. Eventually the bright light did die and left a picture of what looked like a compass on the back of his hand.

"What the hell!" Shiro rubbed the mark on his hand but it did not disappear. No one really knew what to say at the turn of events. Gennai cleared his throat.

"It looks like all you need are supplies. Come with me."

* * *

_**Constructive Criticism is welcomed. Flames are not.**_


End file.
